I understand the difficulty, here, but I'm not so sure it's a bad thing.
What is happening, both musically in idm and on this list, is simply
increased complexity. I'm going to stick to the music metaphor, but it's
equally true for the evolution of this and other mailing lists.
As you grow, you learn more. As you learn, you analyze more. As you analyze
more, you understand more. You never understand everything and there's
always something else to learn...BUT, you do gain a larger understanding of
your subject, i.e. this music. It's called depth...increased
complexity...expanding conscious awareness. Whatever.
Ten years ago, I was happy to hear "Didgeridoo" by RDJ and love it. Today?
Well, today, I want to know more. I can enjoy the track on an emotional
level, but I also want to enjoy it on an intellectual level. Sometimes this
means I want to understand how it was created because that understanding
makes for a richer, more complex experience.
The same sort of thing happens with mailing lists (and all kinds of social
interaction). As this list passes through time (evolves, grows,
progresses...hehe, whatever), it DOES change. We're not as focused on
informing fellow listees about new music as we used to be and we're not as
cohesive as a musical scene as we were 5 years ago, but what the
hell...things change. Maybe you like it, maybe you don't...but this is what
happens with life. This list is developing its own style...its own conscious
awareness...even to the point where anyone visiting in the last year or so
could write a personality sketch of this place and most of us would say,
"yeah, okay, that's us! I recognize that."
What we've created here is a virtual space, philosophical ramblings and
all...that's what happens with communities. And if some people feel they can
enjoy some of this music more by understanding how it works or how it was
produced, so be it. That understanding won't replace the emotional
enjoyment, at least for me...but sometimes I just want to know. And what's
wrong with that? Sometimes it's about the artist's intent, but if you can
combine that with an understanding of an artist's success in achieving that
intent or some notion of the effort it took to create that art...well,
that's something new, isn't it?
And as for originality? I would hold that the 'amount' of originality in the
world doesn't change...not very much. You're just not looking in the right
place because you're absorbed deeper into this place. Depth is about
building on earlier ideas...depth, by definition, can't be as original as
earlier ideas because it's a further exploration of similar concepts. Either
you have depth or you have surface level originality based on New ideas.
Rarely do you get both to the same degree. If you want originality, go
explore the music of tribes native to Borneo or some of the more remote
islands of Micronesia.
just some of what I've been thinking about recently...
---brian
------------------------
Brian W. Gause
Senior Technical Writer
SECTORBASE.com
568 Howard Street
First Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Direct: (415) 365-8203
Fax: (415) 365-8263
-----Original Message-----
From: Phonotype@aol.com [mailto:Phonotype@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2001 11:35 AM
To: idm@hyperreal.org
Subject: [idm] i believe.
i have noticed on the list that some of you people are way caught up in the
means by which things are created. this tends to let the inital concept or
goal get burried behind tonz of meaningless shite.
we should notice tracks/releases as packages (actual music, title, intent of
the artist, design of the concept)
when we start talking about the process as much as the impact of the track
we lose the artist's intent.
i beleive all the talk about process is there for people who are at a loss
for creativity.
fuck how you make shit!
does it sound good?
is it interesting?
was it worth the $10.00 - $30.00 that you paid for it?
i hope so cause the records i buy i listen to first.
maybe you should.
originality is becoming harder and harder to get a hold of nowadays.
its just a thought.
phonotype@aol.com
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